Cinematical

I don't mean to sound like a grumpy old critic, but sometimes the movies do get a bit carried away with technology. Luckily for me, I haven't succumbed to my inner-curmudgeon, and I'm going to give Flight of the Dragon a fighting chance. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Super 78 productions has green lit the IMAX fantasy film, with the added bonus that it will shoot in '4K'. What is 4K? Well, the short version is that it uses four times the amount of picture information used in digital-cinema production. The technique has been used sparingly in the past, but Dragon is touting that it will be one of the first films to use it exclusively.

Dragon was written by Super 78's Brent Young, who will also direct, and is described as "a hybrid documentary and fantasy that tells the story of a young boy's desire to discover China from the sky while flying with a mystical dragon over exotic and mysterious landscapes." Principal photography is already scheduled to begin in mainland China this September with Sean MacLeod Phillips (Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D) as director of photography, and Peter J. McKernan (Land of the Lost) serving as the aerial coordinator.

4K might be the future of filmmaking, but I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that Flight of the Dragon isn't going to turn into a hi-res Dragonheart.

You can go to a studio for money, get a grant, or put yourself into massive debt to make a movie. Or, you can reach out to the world via the Internet. Jam! reports that Canadian television director Casey Walker (Adrenaline Project) has hit the net to get funding for his new film -- Free For All...but you!

Citing the difficulty new Canadian filmmakers face when trying to get funding through Telefilm (and you thought the tax credit issues were the only challenge...), Walker decided to sell frames of his film. For $10 a pop, you can buy a frame of the movie, get a credit in the film, advertisement rights on his website, and part of the profits if the film is a success (My Million Dollar Movie.com). So far, the man has made almost 200 grand, so he's doing something right.

I'm thinking this funding technique should also help in the wake of Bill C10. See, this project isn't the type to appeal to those allergic to alternative lifestyles. It's the story of a young geek who does his friend a favor and moves in with the friend's new crush. Of course, he starts to fall for the girl ... but wait! She has a 7-way relationship. The "7-sided relationship seems ideal -- casual sex with anyone inside the group -- anytime, anywhere. It's been ten years and no one has ever cheated." But things start to change -- the girl deals with her interests outside of the group while the geek deals with orgies in his home. Basically, if Young People F**king caused a ruckus, this definitely should.

As with so many successful screenwriters, John August's work might be more familiar to you than his name. He wrote Go, Charlie's Angels, and a trio of Tim Burton films -- Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Corpse Bride -- before making the mind-bending indie flick The Nines (pictured). He directed it, too (his first feature in that capacity), so he had even more personal attachment to it when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.

A few days ago, August posted an entry on his blog in which he dissects his experience with The Nines and uses it to shine some light on the nerve-racking, dog-eat-dog world of independent filmmaking. Clearly this business is not for the faint of heart. He lists what he calls "the Graduating Class of 2007," 21 buzz-generating films from Sundance that year, including his own. All but one were bought by distributors ... and almost all of them totally tanked at the box office.

That's not very encouraging, especially considering these were the cream of the Sundance crop. Only five on his list made more than $1 million in theaters, and many didn't even crack $100,000. The Nines (which was pretty decent, by the way, definitely worth checking out) got a cursory theatrical release in a couple cities, where it made a paltry $63,165, then eventually found its way to DVD.

There's a very interesting discussion going on over on Hollywood Elsewhere today about whether studios re-releasing older movies on Blu-ray are going too far in tweaking the originals to make them look "better." At the center of the discussion is the Dirty Harry Blu-ray DVD. Glenn Erickson, writing for film.com, points out that the Patton Blu-ray DVD was "enhanced to minimize the natural grain," but that in that case, the altering makes it look more like the theatrical 70mm presentation, so he doesn't take issue with that one. The Dirty Harry Blu-ray, however, Erickson considers "more complicated." He notes:

"The Blu-ray disc shows heavy tweaking to minimize grain, sharpen contrast and brighten colors. Sunny exteriors haven't changed much but heavy processing has given most night shots an almost unnatural look -- detail and bright color in what were once dimly lit areas, with everything else falling into inky blackness. "

Jeff Wells doesn't have a problem with this -- if it makes Dirty Harry look better, who cares? But in the discussion thread on the post, folks are getting down into the nitty-gritty of the issue: studios doing digital remastering for Blu-ray transfers, sometimes without consulting the cinematographer as to why scenes where shot as they were. HE commenter TheVicuna links to an excellent interview at cameraguild.com, the website for the International Cinematographer's Guild, with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond; in part of the interview, he talks about the DVD transfer of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, for which he was not called in to supervise the transfer; the resulting transfer, Zsigmond says in the interview, was "terrible."

Even the weirder artists of the twentieth century have been attracted to the allure of Hollywood filmmaking, and Salvador Dali was no exception. In the fall of 1941, the surrealist painter hosted a masquerade party at Pebble Beach during one of his regular visits to the town. Called "Surrealism Night in An Enchanted Forest," the fundraising event, intended to assist European refugee artists, brought out a number of stars, including Bob Hope and Ginger Rogers. It was here, the story goes, that Dali became attached to a major studio production called Moontide. The great German emigre Fritz Lang was hired to direct the movie, and asked Dali to create a three-minute nightmare sequence for the film. Unfortunately, after the incident at Pearl Harbor later that year, Twentieth Century Fox deemed the project too bleak. Lang was replaced, and Dali's nightmare sequence went with him.

Although inspired by the movies, Dali didn't always have the easiest time making them. He would get another chance to inject his hallucinatory vision into American cinema with the hypnosis scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, but it's his unrealized projects that truly indicate the scope of the painter's ambition. So many ideas, such little time. Dali: Painting and Film, a breathtakingly unique exhibit currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, surveys Dali's completed cinematic works in addition to tidbits from the ones that never came to fruition. Marvelously structured to show how his paintings were intentionally cinematic, the exhibit contains all the obvious highlights from Dali's movie career alongside lesser-known productions. The importance in film history of his collaborations with Luis Bunuel remain uncontested; two large screens in separate rooms showing Un Chien Andalou (where the opening eye splicing retains its original gross-out impact) and L'Age D'Or attest to that. Fewer visitors, however, might know about Dali's collaboration with the Marx Brothers on a deliriously strange movie that sounded too good to be true.

When you think Chris Carter, you think spooky, right? Well, don't feel bad, most of us do. But as it turns out, Carter very well might have pulled a fast one and is already directing another film right under our noses -- and no, it's not X-Files 3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Carter is already hard at work on a dark coming-of-age drama called Fencewalker, starring Natalie Dormer (The Tudors), Katie Cassidy (daughter to David), Xzibit (fresh from the set X-Files), Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks.

So far there are very few details about the project, and reps for the actors and Carter have not confirmed whether or not the production was even underway (seems like an awful lot of effort for an indie drama, but who am I to judge?). Little is known about the story as well, but THR did say that it's "essentially a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements" -- well, you can't blame a guy for wanting to fight against type. Fencewalker was described as a "passion project" for Carter, who also wrote the script and independently financed the flick.

If you're familiar with Carter's M.O. when it comes to keeping secrets, then a covert project isn't exactly outside the realm of possibility. (Besides, if he's making a film about himself, why wouldn't he keep it secret -- he's a hush hush kind of guy!) Think about it, the man already managed to shock us once already this year -- what's one more surprise?

While promoting Hancock over in the UK, Jason Bateman spoke a bit more about that planned Arrested Development movie. Not much has been said about the film in the past couple of months; last we heard, both Michael Cera and David Cross knew nothing about it. But Bateman (who's pretty damn good in Hancock) still seems confident it will happen -- and with the success of Sex and the City on the big screen, why wouldn't he be?

In an interview with The Times (who claim "a big-screen version of Arrested Development is planned for next year"), Bateman says of the transition from small to big screen: "When it was on TV, if you missed one word the whole third act could be blown for you. And TV is a different experience. You come home and you've got to finish a call so you miss the first ten minutes or you get snacky and you go to the fridge and you miss another two minutes, so it's a different experience to film." Bateman is currently making the press rounds, so hopefully someone will nail down something a bit more concrete. I mean, if a movie is planned for next year, don't ya think we'd know about it?

The interview itself is worth a read, and Bateman seems like a fun guy to talk to. On the cult-like TV show, he adds: "Arrested Development played late at night in England, so I got a lot of coke addicts and meth freaks. Great. So you've seen me but you just don't remember me."

With most of the cast a lot more popular now, would Arrested Development work as a movie? Or would it lose some of its -- I dunno -- smaller, quieter charm?

P.S. I should also mention that Bateman will be at the Sony Store in NYC (550 Madison) tonight at 6PM for a Hancock Q&A, and to show off some clips from the film. It's a free event and first come, first served. Get there early!

Last week, I did some reporting from the CineVegas Film Festival, where I served as a juror. The winners were announced this weekend, and they have me wishing I had been able to see more stuff. She Unfolds By Day, Rolf Belgum's film about "a frustrated middle-aged son trying to manage his misanthropic 80-year-old mother," took home the Grand Jury Prize. A Special Jury Award went to Dark Streets, which our own Eric D. Snider gave a decent review to here. Bill Pullman took home a Special Jury Award for his performance in Your Name Here, reviewed by Eric here. The documentary jury, which included Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock, selected Beautiful Losers, about "the lives of a loose-knit group of artists in the '80s who created their own art movement outside the mainstream." Hi, My Name is Ryan, focusing on "the clown prince of the downtown Phoenix art scene," picked up a Special Documentary Jury Prize.

I'm not at all familiar with Portia Doubleday (pictured right), so I was a little nervous to learn she had nabbed the part of one of my all time favorite female characters (from a novel): Sheeni Saunders. Those who've read Youth in Revolt know Sheeni quite well, but if you haven't picture every girl you've ever had a crush on combined into one, all-knowing, beautiful piece of work. That's Sheeni. And according to a press release, Doubleday will be joined by Justin Long, Fred Willard, Zach Galifinakis, Erik Knudsen and Mary Kate Place.

All of those people will join Michael Cera, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi and Jean Smart, among others. Wow. Interesting cast, if I may say so myself. Youth in Revolt tells the simple (yet very complex) story of Nick Twisp, a teenage troublemaker (Cera) with a wacky, white-trashy family who falls desperately in love with the girl of his dreams and goes to great lengths to win her over. Out of the new cast additions, we know Knudsen is playing Twisp's best friend Lefty, Long will play Sheeni's older brother Paul, Willard will play Nick's communist neighbor Mr. Ferguson, Place will play Sheeni's mother and Zach G. will play Jerry, an early (and seedy) boyfriend of Nick's mother (Smart).

I'm a huge, nerdy fan of the original novel written by C.D. Payne, so expect to hear a lot about Youth in Revolt from Cinematical. My fingers are crossed and I wish everyone involved good luck. Production is now underway and I've been told the film will hit theaters this December. Yay!

Today YouTube launched a new section of its site titled The YouTube Screening Room, which it calls a "platform for films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve." Here, they will showcase four short films every two weeks and will even offer an occasional feature. Some of the films have been previously screened at film festivals and some have been nominated for or have won an Academy Award. But others will be premiering on the site. Apparently, the filmmakers will be paid a percentage of YouTube's ad revenue based on views and each film will also feature a "Buy Now" button so that you can purchase that film or other films.

Today's debuts include Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?, a 2005 short written by Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) and starring John C. Reilly, Mike White and July. I've embedded it above for your viewing pleasure. The other three are The Danish Poet, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2007, Love and War, which is a stop motion opera from Sweden, and Our Time is Up, which was nominated for Best Live Action Short in 2006 and which stars Kevin Pollak.

Finished with my jury responsibilities, I managed to check out some features. A favorite of mine was Chelsea on the Rocks, by Abel Ferrara (director of Bad Lieutenant and a terrific little mob flick called The Funeral). It's a documentary about the infamous Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, but it's far from traditional. There are lots of odd transitions and edits, the interviews are beyond casual (Ferrara says something along the lines of "No shit!" every ten seconds while listening to the stories of those living in the building), and there are some utterly ridiculous and unnecessary re-enactments of notorious events in the hotel's past (actors play Sid and Nancy, Janis Joplin, and assorted hangers-on). Truth be told, the whole thing was kind of a mess. But watching it felt a lot like spending a night in the hotel, and it's a ride I'm glad I took. I didn't learn a thing, but it brought me inside a place full of fascinating characters, a place I walked past countless times in Manhattan without a second thought.

There's no way around it: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson owes at least some of his fame to the way his dominating figure fits the blockbuster action stereotype with near-mechanical sleekness. However, he also offers an alternative to that reductive perspective. Looking sharp in a business suit and speaking with the relaxed professional discipline of a CEO, Johnson showed up at a screening of Get Smart on Sunday at the CineVegas Film Festival displaying sheer confidence. The screening took place at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, where Johnson had recently acted in Race to Witch Mountain ("We just added to the chaos," he said), but on this visit, Johnson got a chance to remind people that he's not just a one-note performer, but someone who plays an active role in the international film community (not to mention the health community, since The Rock Foundation pushes obesity prevention).

Outside of his supremely meta performance in Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, Johnson has made his interests in adventurous cinema increasingly clear, and boldly champions independent artists. You can get a small glimpse of this aspect of his personality in Operation Filmmaker, documentarian Nina Davenport's account of an Iraqi filmmaker named Muthana Mohmed whose aspirations tragically fall short of the expectations surrounding him. Landing the opportunity to work for Liev Schreiber on the set of Everything is Illuminated, the 25-year-old Mohmed grows increasingly frustrated with the boring tasks given to him, and continually blows opportunities as a result of his unbalanced work ethic.

Late August was the last time we mentioned George Lucas' Red Tails, but considering the Star Wars director has been wanting to make the film for decades, less than a year between reports is not too bad. Plus, the new AP story about the film's preproduction couldn't come at a better time. People are currently talking about Spike Lee's upcoming African Americans in WWII film, Miracle of St. Anna, and Red Tails also focuses on blacks fighting in the war. Specifically it deals with the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corp., otherwise known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of pilots, bombardiers and navigators.

The AP story mostly features quotes from Tuskegee vets, who share their memories and their hopes for what the film will show. But there's also some minor updates courtesy of producer Rick McCallum, who's reportedly now scouting locations in the Czech Republic and Italy. He says that Lucas is hoping to begin shooting later this year or early 2009 and that the script by John Ridley (Three Kings) "balances difficult and painful issues with what is, at its heart, the story of men with a dream to fly and serve their country." So, apparently the script is finished, yet it's still unclear who will be directing Red Tails; the AP story almost seems to assume that Lucas will be holding the reigns himself.

My fellow jurors and I selected our short film winners yesterday, but I can not share any results until the award ceremony next weekend. You likely wouldn't know any of the titles anyway, but I can pretty much guarantee you will see the filmmakers' names again in the coming years -- some big talents in the mix. There's a party every night here, and I've been having a blast. One of my favorite past-times has been playing a game I call "Hooker/Not a Hooker." Pretty self-explanatory, basically you try to decide which gals are on the payroll, and which aren't. Here's a hint: If she's gorgeous, 22- years-old and hanging off the arm of a 400-pound dude with a combover ... she's available.

I checked out Get Smart yesterday, at an event for The Rock, excuse me, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, excuse me, Dwayne Johnson's charity. Johnson introduced the film and told the audience that "Steve Carell has very soft lips," which made a lot more sense once we watched the flick. For the most part, I agree with Eric's review. It was no masterpiece, but it was just funny and entertaining enough to have been worth the time. Steve Carell can elevate just about anything, and Alan Arkin was hilarious. Now that I've got more free time, I hope to pry myself away from the video poker (currently $45 in the red) and the pool (my skin is also "in the red") and check out some of the more indie-leaning films screening here. Abel Ferrara's Go-Go Tales screens tonight, and I don't think I can pass up that title. Right now there's yet another two-hour "happy hour" starting, so ah...talk to you later!

Somehow, I have remembered to take photos on my vice-filled journey through the CineVegas Film Festival, and while a lot of them didn't come out as I planned, you can see a couple (along with a bunch from Getty Images) in the gallery below. You'll find shots of the parties, of the fest in motion, of fire-breathers in bikinis, of naked women covered in paint (ahem, see above), of singing sensation Bijou Phillips, and even a candid shot of the world beer pong champion (I think you'll be able to figure out which one that is). Wish you were here!